1st July 2024

Following our announcement of the above-named prize on Friday 28th June 2024, we were made aware of some posts and comments made in reference to the prize by Pa Ikhide R Ikheloa. While we would like nothing better than to tune out the noise and focus on what we believe to be the important work of promoting literature in a hostile environment and giving young writers much-needed visibility, the gravity of Pa Ikhide’s allegations compels us to formally address the issue.

The E. E. Sule/SEVHAGE Prize for African Literary Criticism was established to honour Prof. Sule Emmanuel Egya (a.k.a E. E. Sule), a distinguished scholar, writer, and literary activist whose work has significantly contributed to African literary criticism. It was instituted as a direct response to the gap in celebrating critical works and the absence of awards in this category. It is one of several prizes to honour various individuals who have made critical contributions to the Nigerian literary space, including Professors Ekwuazi Hyginus, Maria Ajima, and Mbaiver Leticia Nyitse. At its heart, this prize [and our other prizes] is a writers’ prize for writers, focusing not on the monetary value but on the impact. Our goal has always been to foster a culture of literary excellence and celebrate outstanding work in this field while continuing all the other developmental work we do across sectors.

It is essential to clarify that the modest achievements SEVHAGE has made on the Nigerian literary scene, including convening the annual Benue Book and Arts Festival (BBAAF) and the SEVHAGE Festival, the various prizes we administer and sponsor, anthologies, as well as the numerous workshops and training exercises, are made possible by the immeasurable sacrifice and unwavering determination of the young people who make up the team. Our activities, including the administration of prizes, are carried out independently, with little or no financial backing from political entities or big-money names.

Pa Ikhide claimed to take issue with the prize based on the amount that is being offered. To quote him directly –

“100,000 Naira prize for a 4,500 word essay? $70! I don’t think so.
[…]Aging and ancient Nigerian writers throw stale crumbs at young writers from their stable of plenty. It is silly. They get hundreds of thousands of dollars from corrupt and murderous politicians to fund their literary escapades and want young and upcoming artists to jump hoops to collect $70. Wild. The NLNG prize is married and controlled by elderly professors, that prize costs 1 MILLION US DOLLARS to administer annually, there is no transparency.’ [Adding on X, formerly Twitter][…] I would not allow my name to be attached to a $70 literary prize in 2024, that’s silly.”

Initially convinced that Pa Ikhide must have mistakenly conflated the SEVHAGE Prize with the ‘NLNG prize’ [sic] or another government or institutional prize, we were quick to clarify in a response to him on that post that SEVHAGE is a private organisation, without ties to corrupt and murderous politicians as he imagines. We also made it clear that although the prize is awarded in honour of Prof. Sule Emmanuel Egya, he is not the prize funder. Additionally, we emphasised that our organisation largely comprises young people, not the vampiric ‘elderly professionals’ he alludes to. Although Pa Ikhide claimed that this was not his intended meaning, a significant number of people, including myself, let him know that his original post conveyed this message in tone, letter, and spirit. Rather than retract these allegations, he doubled down on them, continuing to make similar comments on Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter), to date.

From the attention generated by this storm in a teacup occasioned by Pa Ikhide, an anonymous donor reached out to us on 29th June and increased the prize money to ₦285,000, which we gratefully accepted and issued a public statement about.

Realising, perhaps belatedly, that a more measured and reasonable course of action was appropriate, Pa Ikhide announced at a public virtual forum on the same 29th that he would “enhance the cash prize next year.” On the night of the same day, he communicated to me privately a decision to ‘anonymously’ augment the prize to ₦500,000 (i.e. by adding ₦215,000). The next day, I informed him that I had to humbly and respectfully decline the offer based on a resolution from our Board.

As this prize was instituted neither as an ego trip nor a pissing contest – real or imagined – with any individual or organisation, SEVHAGE reserves the right to accept donations and contributions and reject Trojan horses as it deems fit.

While we appreciate offers of financial support, including the recent offer from Pa Ikhide to increase the prize fund, we must maintain our organisational integrity, principles, and decisions. We consider the baseless accusations, which have the potential to besmirch our personal and professional reputations and which have yet to be recanted, an assault on an organisation that has asked for nothing other than the opportunity to conduct her literary work in peace. These accusations are entirely inimical to the plight of the young writers whom he (Pa Ikhide) professes to love. Accepting money from individuals who cast aspersions on our character, organisational image, and the reputation of our honouree is not in line with our values and is an affront to the spirit of the writer, whom we certainly do not regard as a beggar with no choice. Not to mention the belittling of the efforts of our organisation and the potential negative signal to young writers considering entry to the prize. We stand by our decision to decline such offers, a decision rooted in a commitment to transparency and the integrity of our operations.

SEVHAGE is dedicated to creating sustainable support systems through collective efforts and partnerships that align with our mission. We welcome collaborations that further our goals and support the literary arts. Any funds received through such partnerships and/or contributions during this period will be used to endow other prizes, particularly in Creative Non-Fiction and Poetry, and to support the SEVHAGE Festival.

We use this medium to invite those interested to partake in our K & L Fiction Prize (with a star prize of ₦500,000) and/or the E. E. Sule/SEVHAGE Prize for African Literary Criticism (₦285,000), with a deadline of 21st July 2024. All the information, as well as other details on our SEVHAGE Prizes, can be found at https://sevhage.com/prizes, which is constantly being updated.

Our organisation remains committed to nurturing and empowering writers, and we continue to engage in various initiatives, including prizes, workshops, and publications, to support and promote the literary community. We believe in fostering a positive and constructive dialogue that catalyses meaningful change.

We are grateful for the ongoing support from our community and encourage all stakeholders to join us in our mission to enrich the African literary landscape.

Warm regards,
Su’ur E. Su’eddie Vershima Agema
For SEVHAGE